


As a Friend

by Deannie



Category: due South
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1998-07-20
Updated: 1998-07-20
Packaged: 2017-12-18 09:22:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/878227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deannie/pseuds/Deannie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray Vecchio heads off to his undercover assignment--but not without one last goodbye for his best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	As a Friend

"So... You ready to go, Vecchio?"

Ray looked up at Lieutenant Welch, who lounged not-too-casually against a file cabinet. Seeing a...pity...in his boss's eyes, the detective forced a smile.

"No problem, sir," he answered blithely, putting his duffel on the chair next to what used to be his desk. "Bet you're glad to see me finally clean this thing out, aren't ya, sir?" He asked, shoving as many things as he could into the bag without looking at them. "You been threatening me with it for years, and now finally the thing you been threatening me with is--"

"Vecchio?"

The lieutenant's soft call was enough to stop Ray's nervous ramble, and the detective met Welch's eyes mutely.

"You're a good cop, Vecchio," Welch stated, no hint of sarcasm in his tone. "Whatever they have planned for you, you'll do fine."

 _They,_ Ray thought bitterly. _Does he mean the brass, or the bureau, or the mob?_ Still, hearing Welch say that gave the detective a small bit of pleasure. Took the old guy long enough to say what he really thought.

Welch shifted uncomfortably. "So... Your replacement will be here tomorrow?"

"Yes, sir," Ray replied, continuing the rape of his desk at a more leisurely pace. "He's been briefed... I hope the brass knows what it's doing."

Welch didn't respond as he might have at any other time. _When did the brass_ ever _know what they were doing?_ just didn't seem appropriate when Vecchio was going out for a job like this.

"You talk to the Constable yet?"

Welch's question caught Ray a little by surprise, and he hesitated. "They don't want this going out on the phone lines, sir," he replied finally. "Who knows who's listening, right? ...In fact, I was kind of hoping, sir..."

"I'll take care of it, detective."

Ray grinned in relief. "Thank you, sir. I'm sure he'll be fine."

Welch just shook his head in mock annoyance. It was obvious that _he_ didn't think Fraser would be fine...

But then, he didn't seem to think that _Vechhio_ was going to be fine either.

"Well," Welch offered after a moment of uncomfortable silence. "The car'll be here for you in fifteen. You better get ready."

"Yeah," Vecchio sighed. "Yeah. I just got a couple of things I gotta do first."

He watched his lieutenant walk away, and turned back to his desk--to be confronted with a picture of himself and Fraser.

_Damn._

He needed to call the guy. At least to let him know that he wouldn't be at the train station.

Yeah, that was it. He'd just call for that. Not to say goodbye, not to let the mountie know what was going on... Just to tell him he couldn't pick him up.

As a friend, right?

 

Waiting for his friend to come to the phone, Ray began to rethink the wisdom of his call. He couldn't just leave without saying goodbye, could he? Not with Fraser.

"Hello, Ray?" Benny's voice had that edge to it. That "what happened, and how soon do I need to be there" edge.

Hearing this shocked Ray out of his thoughts, and he forced a cheerfulness into his tone. "Hey, Benny, How's the vacation going?"

Benny relaxed, and Ray could hear a smile over the line. "It's everything a mountie could ask for, Ray. Lots of fresh air, plenty of exercise. How are things in Chicago?"

"Oh, you know, Benny," Ray answered blithely. "Chicago is Chicago. Listen, I'm just calling to let you know that I may be not be there at the train to pick you up." _There we go, see? Just calling to let him know._

"That's no hardship, Ray, I have legs. I can walk."

The detective smiled widely at his friend's declaration. Same old Benny. "I know you have legs, Benny, that's not the point. I'm just calling to let you know that... You may be on your own for a while."

"Is something wrong?"

Ray closed his eyes for a second. He shouldn't have said anything. He'd get Benny's suspicions going. "No! Why would anything be wrong? I'm just calling to let you know that I'd like to be there to pick you up, but if I can't be there, it's not because I didn't want to be, it's because something came up." _Slick, Vecchio. Ramble a little more, why don't you?_

"Are you sure everything's all right?"

Ray let himself become exasperated. It would make this easier anyway. "Look Benny, I don't know if they have a similar thing up there in Canada, but down here in America we have this thing called friendship. And this is something that a friend would do. Like for example if one friend calls another friend and he's supposed to meet him at a certain place at a certain time and he can't be there, he usually calls him to let him know." _Come on, Benny, get the point. Please._

"So... everything is all right then?"

 _Depends on your point of view. How do you feel about your best friend working for the mob?_ Ray thought about what Benny would say to that, and it gave him the strength to smile. "...Yeah, Benny," he promised gently, hoping that what he said was true. "Everything is all right."

There were the beginnings of a goodbye in Fraser's voice. "Well that's good to hear, Ray."

 _God, I don't want to say goodbye to him!_ "It's good to hear your voice..." _Do it now, Vecchio. Say goodbye now, before you lose it._ "Listen, um, I want you to have a safe trip and I will be in touch."

"All right, Ray." Was that hurt in Benny's voice?

"You understand that I will be in touch, right?" Vecchio repeated, desperate that his friend understand.

"As a friend?" Benny asked seriously.

Ray smiled. _Bye, Benny. I'll miss you._

"Yeah Benny, as a friend."

He hung up the phone sadly.

_Take care of him, God, okay? ...What am I talking about, course you're gonna take care of him. You look out for little kids, fools, and crazy mounties, right?_

_Please take care of him._

With a sigh, Ray grabbed the picture of Benny and him, and tossed it in the duffel bag. That would be going home to Ma's. Ray? Well, Ray didn't know exactly _where_ he would end up. He threw one last, half-hearted salute to his lieutenant, and left...

 

But as he headed downstairs to the waiting bureau car, Ray Vecchio stopped on the stairs, looking around at the station that he wasn't sure he would ever see again, and, on impulse, fished that picture of him and Benny out of his bag and slipped it into the very back corner of his wallet. And with that, he set out into a new life, trying hard not to mourn the one he left behind.

* * * - - - * * *

A week made a big difference to a guy's morale, the man thought as he headed toward the mailbox. He was settling in okay, and they didn't seem to know that anything was up... yet.

 _Stop thinking like that,_ he chastised himself. _You'll get depressed, which'll make you careless, which'll get you--_

Enough of that thought. He looked at the postcard in his hand. This kind of gag cost a bit of money, but he didn't think the bureau would care about twenty dollars here or there.

And even if they did, he didn't.

He looked at the back of the card once more. It _was_ cold out here. Unfortunately, the only way to heat him up would be to get him back with Benny where he belonged.

_I keep my promises, Benny. I'll stay in touch... You're the one part of that life I can't lose..._

Sighing at the thought, the man formerly known as Ray Vecchio dropped the postcard into the mailbox, and walked away.

* * *

_The End_


End file.
